“Georgia is a free and democratic country. It’s up to the Georgians to decide what laws they have in their country,” said EU Ambassador to Georgia, Paweł Herczyński.

According to the Ambassador, if the bill On Transparency of Foreign Influence is adopted, the “law will not help in moving Georgia closer to membership in the European Union.”

“Georgia is a free and democratic country. It’s up to the Georgians to decide what laws do they have in their country. As a European Union, we will respect whatever decision will be made here in Georgia, but clearly, as stated by President Michel yesterday, and as stated by many other leaders from Europe, if adopted this law will not help in moving Georgia closer to the membership in the European Union.

“I am a foreign diplomat. It’s not my role both to advise to the Georgian government or any other political party in Georgia. It’s for the Georgians to decide what future do they want for their country. My role is to present what European Union membership would mean for Georgia, what benefits it would bring to Georgian people, and also to present the consequences of different decisions that are taken here in Georgia. But the decisions should be taken in Georgia, by the Georgians and in Georgian, not with the participation of foreigners, and I think that the Georgian people have fought for this for many generations in order to be fully independent and to decide about their future by themselves and not by anyone’s,” he said.